NEW DELHI: An out-of-sorts Indian team succumbed to a six-wicket loss in the fifth and final Test, handing Australia a 3-1 series victory and reclaiming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a decade. This defeat, coupled with India’s inability to make the World Test Championship final, underscores a period of transition fraught with challenges and questions about the team’s direction.
Despite flashes of brilliance, India’s campaign lacked consistency. Jasprit Bumrah’s 32 wickets in five matches earned him the Player of the Series award, yet his absence due to back spasms in the final Test highlighted India’s over-reliance on their star players. Bumrah’s absence left the bowling attack toothless, while the batting unit failed to provide the fight required in a high-stakes clash.
The series loss marked back-to-back defeats for India, a rarity since 2014. While the players seemed burdened by the weight of expectations, Virat Kohli, in what could be his last Test on Australian soil, garnered attention for his “sandpaper gesture,” a move that Australian media widely criticized but dismissed as irrelevant to the outcome.

The Australian press, in contrast, celebrated their team’s triumph with unrestrained praise. The Sydney Morning Herald emphasized Australia’s resilience: “Australia responded in emphatic and clinical fashion, going on to win three of the next four matches and consigning India to back-to-back series defeats for the first time since 2014.”
News.com.au ignited debate by dubbing this Australian team the “greatest ever,” crediting captain Pat Cummins for completing a collection of every major cricketing trophy. The outlet remarked: “Cummins’ legacy is quickly becoming a guy who just wins things for fun.”
It also took note of Kohli’s actions during the Sydney Test, stating, “Virat Kohli then elected to fire up the crowd with a bizarre sandpaper gesture, the act raised eyebrows but it didn’t do anything to stop the Aussies.”

The ABC Sport called the series win “the defining moment of the Pat Cummins era,” remarking on Australia’s historic comeback after an opening-Test loss. “This is now the defining victory of the Pat Cummins era,” it declared.
The Weekend Australian credited Australia’s “cult heroes” for the victory while hinting at India’s flawed planning: “India might have been better off if some of their heroes had stayed at home.”
Meanwhile, The Courier Mail criticized Kohli’s antics, labeling them as a parting shot from a “pantomime villain.”
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For India, the series defeat raises pressing concerns. The team appears to be in a transitional phase, grappling with issues of form, fitness, and team composition.
As Australia march confidently toward the World Test Championship final, India are left to reflect on a campaign that promised much but delivered little.